Dragons. They are more than a memory from an age of wizards and heroes. These winged, fire-breathing beasts soar through the traditions of many lands, and through our dreams. In their many guises – Western or Eastern, reptile or lizard or serpent, wyvern, hydra, basilisk – dragons embody everything that we humans call magic.

In this volume of the acclaimed ‘Future Chronicles’ anthology series, twelve authors invite you to journey to very different worlds – lands of fire and fury, of legend and lore – but all worlds where dragons roam unshackled from myth, freed from the imagination, and real.

"Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? Cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, and instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise. Learn more

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About the Author

Created by Samuel Peralta - series editor and a Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy notable author in his own right - The Future Chronicles is the #1 bestselling anthology series that brings together work from visionary new voices and from the grandmasters of modern speculative fiction.

Its unique take on major science fiction and fantasy themes - A.I., time travel, dragons, robots, aliens, zombies, immortality, galactic battles, cyborgs, doomsday - has made it one of the most acclaimed anthology series of the digital era.

“Ten Things You Should Know About Dragons” by Elle Casey. Classic dragons, straight out of the old tales: they don't talk, but do breath fire. This entry is disguised as a lecture, but make no mistake, it's a story. A dragon and his boy. And vice-versa.

“Of Sand and Starlight” by Daniel Arenson. These dragons can shape-shift into humans. The whole population is like that, but assuming dragon form is outlawed unless you're in the military. One young girl has to decide between a miserable but free existance as a human or a life regulated by the government as a dragon.

“Tasty Dragon Meat” by K.J. Colt. Plenty of classic dragons in this one, mostly dead and sold for meat. Cursed meat. The living dragons talk. Great story of the dangers of meddling in things you don't understand.

“Transparency” by Alex Albrinck. Two opposite species of dragon here. One of water and ice and flight, the other of earth and rock and marching. What happens when they get together? Usually, it's death for one or the other, but not always ...

“Sacrifice” by David Adams. Talking dragons who wield ancient magic, but can even that power stave off the grim spectre of extinction? A sad and beautiful story.

“It’s Time to Change” by Terah Edun. Back to shape-shifting dragons who can assume human form, but this time, not everybody can do it. Our hero can't shift to dragon form, but he is still much more than human. And he's being drafted to become a martial arts warrior, if he can survive the tests.

“Dragon Play” by Ted Cross. Dragons of the non-talking, mostrous beast variety, and no friends of man. A handful of children brave the dragon's den, but it should be safe. The old dragon is dead, isn't he?

“A Diversion in Time” by Nina Croft. An old talking dragon and a young werewolf on a desperate mission requiring time travel. Fun adventure tale!

“The Book of Safkhet, Chronicler of the Journey, Mistress of the House of Books” by Kim Wells. A race of alien dragons, allied with humans, in a time long before history on Earth began. This one has some interesting suprises, and a bit of philosophy and religion.

“Grey” by Chris Pourteau. The last of the dragons, and a talking one. Friends with a young female human. But how far can you trust a dragon's friendship, when it comes to war?

“The Storymaster” by Vincent Trigili. Talking dragons and dragonriders versus pirates! That's the story-within-the-story here, but the wraparound story is the best part.

“Judgement” by Monica Enderle Pierce. Only one dragon in this last tale, but it's a doozy. The dragon talks, and more than that, executes judgement. Perfect blend of a dragon myth and a wild west story and a murder mystery. Sounds like it couldn't work, but it does.

I had a blast reading all of these stories. It's obvious the writers had great fun writing them. Highly recommended for dragon-lovers everywhere.

I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes, but I'm way late in writing this review, and I managed to cleverly delete my review copy, so I went ahead and bought it. Yes, I bought this book after I had already read it for free! It's that good.

I found this book of dragon tales to be one of the most diversified collection of dragon stories I have come across. I hadn't realized that so many different kinds of dragons could be found in one book. From the "Ten Things You Should Know about Dragons" by Elle Casey to "Dragon Play" by Ted Cross when precocious children investigate a dark cave to discover dragons, to "The Storymaster" by Vincent Trigili who tells how dragon stories are passed from generation to generation, all these writers help keep the imaginations of us dragon lovers alive and healthy.

Like a dragon — the enigmatic magical creature that exists in a rift between the real, the legendary and the imagined, this anthology is a diverse force of supernatural delights.I am once again impressed by Samuel Peralta’s ability to gather together authors that can lend credible and incredible facets of view on the given topic. I have read previous chronicles, this impresses me no less.

I will try not to spoil, so I will give my feelings and impressions about some of these magnificent and intriguing tales.

Ten Things You Should Know About Dragons - Elle Casey— A very wry and sometimes hilarious speech delivered by an instructor in dragon-riding. In my mind I thought of it as “the care and feeding of your dragon… be careful not to the object of its feeding”.The fun way it explains the cantankerous and unpredictable nature of the beasts is bound to make you smile.

Of Sand and Starlight - Daniel Arenson— I’m allowed to have favorites in the collection, and this is definitely one that touched me deeply. Brilliantly crafted, this tale of forlorn regret and injury and betrayal and hope, all sticking to our bare and bruised feet like blackened sand, is one that you’ll not soon shake from you. Potential magnificence, fettered by jealous and irrational greed and and cruel judgement, is the thread that runs throughout. Do you dare to hope for better? Can you, in a world that makes you deny who you are?

Tasty Dragon Meat - K. J. Colt— Kudos to Colt here for creating an entirely new and interesting mythos of dragon lore. Almost on the edge of being comedy, but always interesting and captivating. I hung on the events as they happened, picked my hero and my hated beings, and then had them brutally switched around on me with no notice. This tale kept me on the edge, not knowing ethically whom to root for, but wanting to know who the author wanted me to, and deciding if I agreed. This is all about ignorance, greed, stupidity and vengeance, in almost equal measure, cooked into a delicious dragon steak.

Transparency - Alex Albrinck—Dragons spun of beautiful water and ice and looking like glass sculptures pitted against powerful dragons of the earth, marked by strength and cunning. A yin and yang of dragons that fear and hate each other over a species defining struggle. Who would win? who would be betrayed? who would learn of the mysteries and the secrets and the hoarded sins of the realm? A very heartening read.

Sacrifice - David Adams— What forges the metal of honor between dragons and men? Whose spirit, unbending and stalwart, adheres to the oath of the uneasy truce? Who is betrayed, and how much of that betrayal is made by our own hearts, yearning to trust when reliance on worthiness is without proof? Read this story and remember that ethics which are only convenient are not really standards of the good.

It's Time to Change - Terah Edun— This is a wonderful novel, shrunk down to a short story length. It makes me wish to have read it as a novelette, but still that doesn’t diminish the epic proportions of the story, the point of decision, the journey and the path to understanding of who Vendaris really is fated to be.

Dragon Play - Ted Cross— ok, this is another of my favorites in the group. Not only because the characters feel real, and their relationship believable, but the adventure in the cave is heart-stopping, and glues your lungs together when the characters hold their own breath. You are pulled into these characters, not a yanking of terror sort of way, but you find yourself inhabiting them as naturally as if you are there in the cave with them. This is masterfully written, and the feel and tone of Iceland or Scandanavia or wherever its set is so integral it becomes the backbone of the tale. Not like some stories that make you feel the location is just a choice from a spun wheel of possibilities, no, this feels rooted and born from the land where it is written. Beautiful.

A Diversion in Time - Nina Croft— A convoluted, but wonderful tale of travel through time, the capricious personalty of dragons who have their own agendas, in spite of efforts to control them. There is love and chance meetings and danger and narrow escapes, and finally a learned lesson about the nature of what messing with time can throw at you. I connect with the character of Angel, and his complex relationship with his powerful sister. But the errant and headstrong dragon is the real interesting character of the piece.

The Book of Safkhet, Chronicler of the Journey, Mistress of the House of Books - Kim Wells— a story that is inextricably linked with interstellar history, cautions about weapons of mass destruction, the bible, and stellar-hopping dragons is what adds to the flavor of this tale.

Grey - Chris Pourteau— Amanda and Grey are the friends of this story, one who mourns the loss of a species, harboring grudges and blood feuds, looking past them with great stretches of will, and the other who carries guilt and regret inside of her. Their truce is a brittle one, like the aged and brittle grey scales of the dragon. Can one trust the other, even as their friendship hangs in the balance of a desired boon, a requested favor of great cost? This is charmingly written, and comfortably played by the emissaries of the two species at the negotiation of desperation.

The Storymaster - Vincent Trigili— This is so real, and heartwarming in its own way, but then out comes the story and you realize there is treachery and danger and the precipice of extinction being laid out in a story for children, were the storyteller holds back things that would make the story different indeed. nicely written and the feeling of originality cement my regard for it as one of my favorites.

Judgement - Monica Enderle Pierce— This is so fun! I love the mixing of old west and dragon lore. Pierce does a great job of putting us in the head of Peregrine Long (one of the best names ever found in a story) and in his heart and the predicament he is thrown into due to treachery and mayhem and maybe a little bit of coming afoul of two sisters. He might have been better off dealing with the dragon.

This is a great collection of short stories about dragons. Mind you, it's hard to write a bad story about dragons, as far as I'm concerned. But these are some very creative, unusual stories. If you love dragons - and really, who doesn't? - this one is highly recommended!